Hamilton, FSU move on in NIT with win vs. Hoyas

Published: Monday, March 24, 2014 at 11:52 PM.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida State Seminoles put on their best shooting display of the season to advance to the NIT quarterfinals. The top-seeded ‘Noles shot a season-high 68.2 percent from the field during a 101-90 victory Monday night against Georgetown.

“You have some of those nights,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, a Gastonia native, said. “But we have shot the ball fairly well all season long. ... These are the same guys we had last year, they were freshmen. I think they worked hard to improve some of their skills.

“We haven’t had very many games when everybody’s playing well at the same time.”

The Seminoles will host third-seeded Louisiana Tech on Wednesday night for the chance to play in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden in New York. Florida State (21-13) also shot 68.8 percent from behind the arc, knocking down 11 3-pointers. The 101 points scored were the most by Florida State since a 106-62 win against Charlotte on Dec. 17. The Hoyas (18-15) hadn’t allowed 100 points in regulation since the 2000-01 season.

“They were making threes no matter what defense we threw at them,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “We tried a little bit of everything. Nothing was really effective today. We emphasized we have to protect the 3-point line. They’ve got guys that can shoot and you know that, fellas. You’ve got to get out there and guard them. It was said much differently than that, but that was the essence of the halftime talk.”

Florida State guard Aaron Thomas matched a career-high with 26 points and Devon Bookert had career-highs in points (21) and assists (nine) while adding five rebounds and two steals. Ian Miller returned from a foot injury to score 18, and Okaro White finished with 16.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida State Seminoles put on their best shooting display of the season to advance to the NIT quarterfinals. The top-seeded ‘Noles shot a season-high 68.2 percent from the field during a 101-90 victory Monday night against Georgetown.

“You have some of those nights,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, a Gastonia native, said. “But we have shot the ball fairly well all season long. ... These are the same guys we had last year, they were freshmen. I think they worked hard to improve some of their skills.

“We haven’t had very many games when everybody’s playing well at the same time.”

The Seminoles will host third-seeded Louisiana Tech on Wednesday night for the chance to play in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden in New York. Florida State (21-13) also shot 68.8 percent from behind the arc, knocking down 11 3-pointers. The 101 points scored were the most by Florida State since a 106-62 win against Charlotte on Dec. 17. The Hoyas (18-15) hadn’t allowed 100 points in regulation since the 2000-01 season.

“They were making threes no matter what defense we threw at them,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “We tried a little bit of everything. Nothing was really effective today. We emphasized we have to protect the 3-point line. They’ve got guys that can shoot and you know that, fellas. You’ve got to get out there and guard them. It was said much differently than that, but that was the essence of the halftime talk.”

Florida State guard Aaron Thomas matched a career-high with 26 points and Devon Bookert had career-highs in points (21) and assists (nine) while adding five rebounds and two steals. Ian Miller returned from a foot injury to score 18, and Okaro White finished with 16.